[Acute prognosis and differentiation of various cerebral infarct groups in comparison with cerebral hemorrhage]

For clinical trials classification of stroke should be possible at the bedside by simple methods that are available every where. In this study are 1105 patients with every first ischaemic strokes and 130 patients with intracerebral haemorrhages. The differences between severity of clinical symptoms, outcome and risk factors of intracerebral haemorrhages, ischaemic stroke caused by cerebral microangiopathy, ischaemic stroke combined with extracranial carotid stenosis, cardiogenic brain embolism and atherothrombotic stroke, were analysed. Intracerebral haemorrhages show the poorest outcome of all groups (mortality 23.8%), due to increased intracranial pressure. Cardiogenic brain embolism is more frequent in older women (mean age 77.8 y.). Main risk factor is atrial fibrillation with absolute arrhythmia. The outcome of this group is the worst of all subgroups of ischaemic stroke and survivors most often in need of institutionalization. Patients with ischaemic stroke combined with extracranial carotid stenosis are significantly younger (mean age 67.6 y.), predominantly male, and smokers. Their mortality is low (0.63%), but recovery of paresis is slower than in other subgroups. Ischaemic strokes caused by cerebral microangiopathy with hypertension as main risk factor recover most quickly but acute mortality is higher than in ischaemic stroke combined with extracranial carotid stenosis because of higher age (mean age 74.5 y.). Institutionalization is more frequent too because of higher incidence of dementia in this subgroup. The main prognostic factors of all groups are age and severity of clinical symptoms. A special subgroup are infratentorial ischaemic strokes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)